LONDON — Former Gurkha soldiers from Nepal lost a test case against Britain's Ministry of Defence over pension rights at the High Court in London on Monday.
The ruling came after the British government last year granted Gurkha veterans the right to settle in Britain following a high-profile campaign led by actress Joanna Lumley.
The legal action was launched by the British Gurkha Welfare Society, which says around 24,000 Gurkha veterans who served before 1997 and their dependents receive only a third of what their British counterparts get in pensions.
It said afterwards that it would appeal against the ruling.
The test case which focused on two claimants, Surbarna Adhikari and Tikendra Dewan. They served 15 and 31 years in the army respectively.
"It is very regrettable that the Gurkhas were yet again forced to take the British government to court and disappointing that we did not win the case, though we have understood that this was not likely to be the end of the road," said general secretary Chhatra Rai.
"This is above all a moral issue as the majority of Gurkha veterans in this group are now becoming increasingly old and fragile and do not have the level of English necessary to find a job," he said.
"Most of these Gurkhas are therefore not able to work in their old age to supplement their pension."
Justice Ian Burnett spoke of the "high regard" British people had for Gurkhas, but he rejected their challenge on the grounds the Ministry of Defence had not acted unlawfully.
The ministry had argued that because Gurkha pensions are payable over a longer time than regular armed forces pensions, Gurkhas end up receiving the same amount as British veterans.
About 200,000 Gurkhas fought for Britain in World War I and World War II and more than 45,000 have died in British uniform.
Around 3,500 now serve in the British army, including in Afghanistan. Gurkhas have won 13 Victoria Crosses, the top military award for valour.
In May last year the British government U-turned to allow all Gurkha veterans with a minimum of four years' service to settle in Britain.
Lumley, the daughter of a British major who fought with the Gurkha Rifles in World War II, figured prominently in that campaign. She subsequently visited Nepal and was hailed as a heroine.
Dozens of British lawmakers have signed a House of Commons motion backing better pensions for Gurkhas.
"The Gurkhas have always been an integral part of the British armed forces, fighting the same wars and carrying out the same duties as British soldiers," said veteran Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe.
"It is an injustice to give these veterans a pension based on their country of origin instead of the country in whose army they loyally served."
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